Liberate Yourself from Hell
by TheLostMaximoff
Summary: Elle embarks on a cross-country journey to reclaim her memories and discover the truth about the mother she only barely remembers at all.
1. Thanks for the Memories

Liberate Yourself from Hell

By TheLostMaximoff

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. Now that we're on break and everyone is locked in place for a while I decided it would be a good time to start this. R/R.

(Author's Note): _This means dream sequence and/or flashback._

X

_Elle forgot what the laughter of children sounded like. She realizes she never fully took time to appreciate it. She hears it now and wonders where exactly it's coming from. That's when she sees the little, blond girl in a pretty, blue dress run up to her and hug her. Elle thinks this is strange because she doesn't play nice with children or with anyone in general. Elle frowns as she suddenly realizes the little girl is crying instead of laughing._

"_What's wrong?" asks Elle as she kneels down to bring herself eye-to-eye with the girl._

"_Mommy left me," sniffles the girl, "I can't find her." Elle feels a certain sadness she hasn't felt in a long time. She's heard it's called "empathy" but she never really got the concept of it._

"_Hey," says Elle softly, "I can help. That's what I do now. I help people."_

"_Like a hero?" asks the girl hopefully, her tears momentarily gone at the promise of salvation._

"_Just like a hero," assures Elle. It feels strange to think of herself as a hero. All her life, Elle's ability has caused nothing but trouble and pain for her and those around her. It's so foreign to think that she saved someone with it. It gave her a nice feeling though, a feeling she wouldn't mind feeling again. There's a noise in the distance. Elle reaches for the girl's hand but the hand slips through her fingers._

"_Daddy's mad," says the girl before she fades away like a ghost. Elle stands up and looks around. She sees something new now. She can feel her heart speed up and her palms become sweaty. It's a big, glass box like the one she was put in at age nine. Elle cautiously approaches it and presses against the glass. She sees a woman inside the box, a familiar woman._

"_Mommy?" asks Elle as the woman looks at her, "Mommy!" She bangs on the glass and desperately searches for a door._

"_Save me," pleads Elle's mother._

"_I can get you out," promises Elle as she pounds on the glass, trying to break it. She's a hero now. Isn't this what heroes do?_

"_Save me," repeats Elle's mother._

"_I don't know how!" whines Elle, "I'll try harder, Mom. I'll save you!"_

"_No, you won't," says Bob. Elle turns to see her father simply standing there staring at her. What did he do? What did he do to her and her family?_

"_Let her out," orders Elle, "Daddy, please let her out."_

"_You can't save anyone, Elle," states Bob, "You're not tough enough to be a hero. You're just a disappointment."_

"_I'm a hero!" cries Elle as she pounds on the glass, "I can save her!" She tries to get her sparks going but they won't turn on. She feels strong hands grab her and start to drag her away. Elle tries to claw and fight her way free so she can help her mother but she can't get her power to turn on. She's not a hero. She's a monster, a weapon._

"_I'm a hero!" cries Elle again as the men in white coats drag her away, "I'm a hero!"_

XXXXX

Elle woke up and barely restrained the urge to scream. Her breath came in short, heavy gasps and she shivered uncontrollably. She rubbed her arm and found that it still felt a little numb. Two days ago, that arm had been in a sling and it was still sore.

"Mommy," whispered Elle as she shivered again. She got out of bed and moved towards the door. She was still dazed from her nightmare and she slowly wandered the halls of the Hartsdale facility like an aimless ghost. It was the same nightmare again, the same one she had been having for weeks. The presentation was always different but the content and message were the same.

"What did you do?" asked Elle as she slowly and quietly snuck into her father's office. It was the new game she had created. Every time she had a nightmare, Elle would go into her father's office. Sometimes she would harmlessly surf the internet until she was relaxed enough to give sleep another try but most of the time she would dig into files. Lately, Elle had been restless. She was starting to question things, things that she never would've questioned before. Elle turned on her father's laptop and logged into The Company's network under his account. She didn't expect to find much. The hard copies of her file weren't around but she knew there had to be records somewhere.

"That's odd," said Elle as she clicked on a folder bearing her name. She had spent most of her time digging through the network but lately she had turned to the files that were on the computer itself. She hadn't seen this folder before. The computer prompted her to provide a password but her father's usual one wasn't correct. Elle decided there was something very private about her in that folder that her father didn't want anyone to know about. This instantly made her want to open it.

"What would it be?" asked Elle aloud as she quietly searched her father's desk drawers for a clue as to what the password might be. She cautiously took out a photograph and stared at it. Elle recognized her parents as well as Noah Bennet. She assumed the other woman was Bennet's wife. All four of them looked happy in the picture, as if they were lifelong friends. Elle felt a gnawing need suddenly grip her. Her nightmares were becoming more frequent and more vivid. She needed to know about what happened to her mother. Elle could barely remember the woman at all and her father never spoke of her.

"Burning the midnight oil doesn't seem like your style." Elle rolled her eyes and swiveled around in her chair to see Noah Bennet come into the room.

"Couldn't sleep," said Elle curtly.

"You'll hurt your eyes if you stare at that thing in the dark," warned Bennet.

"You're not my father," reminded Elle.

"Something that I am eternally grateful for," assured Bennet as he sat down on the leather couch and simply stared at Elle, "So really, Elle, what are you doing here?"

"Couldn't sleep," repeated Elle as she held up the picture she had been studying, "Do you remember my mother?" Bennet squinted and got up so he could get a better look at the picture. He remembered Mary Bishop. Noah and Bob had been friends for a very long time until things started getting . . . complicated. Bob chose to use his daughter as a lab rat and while that never really sat well with Bennet things turned especially ugly when he received Claire. Having a daughter of his own changed Bennet and since then he could never look at Bob the same way.

"Company Christmas party circa 1989," recited Bennet as he stared at the picture fondly, "You were, what, six years old then?"

"You and Daddy look like best friends," mentioned Elle.

"We _were_ best friends," admitted Bennet, "I remember your mother, Elle. She was a kind, decent person who loved you and your father. She was too good for him."

"I thought you didn't meet Daddy until after she left us," said Elle.

"I said I was there when he brought you in," corrected Bennet, "I never said that was the first time we ever met." Elle sat in silence and let this new information sink in. Her memory had been spotty lately. She felt as if she was remembering things she should forget and forgetting things she should remember.

"There are files on here but they have a different password," explained Elle, "Do you know it?"

"Can't help you there, kiddo," admitted Bennet as he took a pen and scribbled something on a piece of paper, "Send an email to that address and tell her I sent you. She'll help you get to those files if you really want to see what's in them."

"Who is she?" asked Elle, "Where can I find her?"

"She finds you," replied Bennet, "I never know where she is exactly but she sends me emails from time to time. It's a shame to be forgotten."

"I could tell Daddy on you," reminded Elle.

"I could do the same," countered Bennet, "We both know that won't happen. You're too curious to end the game now when it's just starting." Elle frowned and turned away. She knew Bennet was right. She had to know the truth. Some irresistible force compelled her. Who was her mother and what had happened to her? Was she possibly still alive? Did her departure have anything to do with what Elle's father might've done to her?

"Let me know if you ever feel like talking about the good, old days," said Bennet as he headed for the door, "Pleasant dreams, Elle."

"Wait, why were you up in the first place?" asked Elle.

"Couldn't sleep," replied Bennet with a grin, "You know how it is." With that, Bennet left Elle alone in the dark. She turned back to the computer and stared at the password prompt. She wasn't going to get any answers from her father. Elle stared at the email address Bennet had written down. Could she trust him? Could she really trust anyone?

"What did you do?" asked Elle as she searched for a new file. She called up the Haitian's file. It was short on personal history but they had done numerous tests with his ability. That was what Elle wanted to see. His power effectively damaged the brain, specifically the areas dealing with memory. Prolonged or frequent use could cause unwanted side effects but the damage could be repaired. Of course that kind of extensive damage would take decades to heal on its own but if someone somehow had something that could heal it faster then it would take only a matter of days.

"Something like this," finished Elle aloud as she opened up Claire's file and stared at the two side by side. She couldn't find the Haitian but she knew exactly where to find Claire. Slowly the pieces were beginning to fall into place and Elle was concocting a scheme. She couldn't trust anything but her own memories. If she could get those back then she could know beyond all doubt whether or not her father was truly a monster. Once she had that squared away, Elle could try to find out what happened to her mother. It was risky and Elle knew she would be stepping into a very dangerous game if she tried this.

"What should I do?" asked Elle as she stared at the picture of her mother. Her mother was very pretty with nice eyes and a beautiful smile. Elle remembered her mother's voice, soft and sweet like candy. Oh how her mother could sing. Elle remembered listening to that warm, soft voice lull her to sleep every night. Her mother's voice was like a big, warm blanket that Elle wrapped herself in. Now though that voice was fading away. Elle struggled to hang on to the memory but it slipped away into the dark.

"It's a shame to be forgotten," whispered Elle as she closed down the laptop and started to unplug it. She stuffed the email address into a pocket on the laptop's travel case after putting the machine in the bag. She had to travel light but she had to make sure she took everything she needed. There would be no coming back from this.

"I'll find out what you did," hissed Elle as she looked at her father's face in the photograph, "Then I'll kill you for it if I have to."

XXXXX

The more Claire Bennet thought about this whole "normal life" thing, the more she really hated it. Of course, Claire supposed she never really gave it much of a chance. She was basically doomed since birth, cursed to never really have a normal life no matter how much her father fought to change that. Now Claire's father was basically a Company hostage and worse yet her biological father had been murdered. Claire hated seeing the replays of it on TV. It had been a month and there were no new developments with that case, at least none that the media was willing to share with the unwashed masses.

"Claire Butler," said a voice over the intercom, "Please report to the front office." Claire still couldn't get used to her new last name so it took her a second longer than it should've to react. She passed it off as a lack of attention as she got up from her desk and headed out of the classroom. Claire quickly moved through the courtyard until she reached the main office building. She opened the door, stepped inside, and felt her blood turn cold.

"Your cousin's here," said the secretary.

"I'm afraid I have some rather terrible news," explained Elle sadly, "Can we have a moment alone please?"

"Can't let you take her out of the building unless you sign her out," explained the secretary, "Can't let you sign her out without her consent."

"One second," said Elle as she took Claire aside and leaned to whisper something in her ear, "Play along or I _will_ kill your father." Not missing a beat, Claire worked up some fake tears and started to cry.

"Oh it's so terrible!" wailed Claire melodramatically, "I hope Uncle Bob is okay."

"I'm sure he will be," assured Elle as she held Claire's hand, "C'mon, we need to get to the hospital. Your father's already there. He sent me to get you."

"You understand, right?" asked Claire as she looked at the secretary, "I mean family's important."

"Of course, dear," assured the secretary, "Just sign this and have your cousin sign it too." Claire and Elle did as requested and then Elle led Claire out of the building.

"Just keep walking and get in the car," ordered Elle, "Don't do anything stupid."

"I thought that was your job," retorted Claire bitterly, "Your father and my father made a deal. No more coming after each other's families."

"Just get in the car and I'll explain," assured Elle. Claire got into the car Elle gestured to while Elle went around to the other side and got into the driver's seat.

"Where's my dad?" asked Claire.

"I only said I'd kill him," reminded Elle as she suddenly grabbed Claire's arm, "I never said he was actually with me." Before Claire could react, Elle zapped her with enough voltage to fry a normal person. The shock only knocked Claire out and left tiny wisps of smoke rising from her skin. Elle knew that wouldn't last. She couldn't believe it was this easy. She had taken the first available flight to as close to Costa Verde as she could get. She had slept until time for the flight and had also slept most of the way there. The extra electricity in her body kept her wired enough to get by with less sleep than a normal person required. She had taken some clothes, the photograph, her father's laptop bag along with all contents in said bag, and a medical kit with her complete with everything one could need in order to draw blood from someone. Her wallet had enough fake IDs, cash, and Company cards to get her through this little adventure. She'd worry about the rest after this was over.

"Cheerleaders," muttered Elle as she buckled Claire in and then started the car, "So damn naïve."

XXXXX

Noah Bennet prided himself on being a man who could deal well with any crisis. Bennet was a professional, practically a legend in the books of Company history. He achieved this vaunted status by always allowing reason and sensibility to prevail over emotion and sentimentality. Yet there were certain instances when his emotions got the upper hand. This was almost one of them.

"She fried the entire security grid," stated Bob wearily as he started making mental notes of exactly how much money this would cost and how quickly they could repair it.

"Quite a step up from powering a flashlight," remarked Bennet with a grin, "And you said she'd never amount to anything."

"Now is not the time, Noah," reminded Bob, "She's taken my laptop and she still has her Company cards. Given the fact that they're hard to trace, it will take at least a day to get them all canceled."

"Should've thought about that beforehand," said Bennet, "Why disrupt my sleep for this, Bob?"

"Did you say something to her?" asked Bob, "Did you tell her?"

"You know I really can't keep track of your lies, Bob," replied Bennet, "You'll have to be a bit more specific." Bennet noticed Bob was getting visibly agitated. Of course, it wasn't as if this fact bothered Bennet. Realistically speaking, there was very little Bob could do to hurt Bennet.

"If I find out you've turned her against me," began Bob.

"You'll hurt my family," finished Bennet, "I'd say you have enough problems right now with your own so let's give that broken record a rest." Bennet noticed a red light suddenly blink. Bob's mood noticeably improved as he studied the tracker.

"Apparently I won't have to carry out such threats," said Bob, "My daughter might just be doing it for me."

"What does that mean?" asked Bennet.

"My laptop just turned up in Costa Verde," explained Bob, "There's a tracker program in it that lets me know where it is if someone should steal it. The thing starts up with the rest of the operating system."

"So you're going to bring me along for the ride?" asked Bennet.

"It's either that or leave you here with a defenseless facility full of secrets you could use against us," reminded Bob, "This way, I can keep an eye on you."

"Always was an advocate of our 'buddy system'," remarked Bennet, "I suppose I don't really have a choice."

"Think of it as an unexpected chance to see your family again," suggested Bob, "Grab your gear. We need to get going."

XXXXX

Claire shifted uncomfortably as she regained consciousness. She tried to move but found her legs and arms taped to the chair. She struggled a bit and then tried to get a sense of where she might be. She knew it was a hotel but Claire still wasn't familiar enough with Costa Verde to accurately guess which hotel it might be. She saw Elle sitting at a desk doing something on a laptop. It looked as if she was writing down directions. Elle suddenly turned and saw that Claire was awake.

"Hi," chirped Elle as she bounced down onto the bed next to Claire, "I need a favor."

"Right," said Claire sarcastically, "I'll totally be willing to help you." She yelped as Elle shocked her.

"I tried to be nice," reminded Elle with a frown, "All you have to do is give me what I want and I'm gone. Is that really so hard?"

"Being nice doesn't involve tying people to a damn chair!" snapped Claire, "Do you really think I'm going to help you? Last time I checked, you tried to kill me and my boyfriend and your buddies killed my father then brought him back to life." Claire whimpered as Elle shocked her again.

"I need your blood," explained Elle, "It's very, very important."

"What for?" asked Claire as Elle went over to the table and opened up the medical kit. She took out a needle and connected it to a plastic bag via a rubber hose.

"It's personal," stated Elle as she jammed the needle in Claire's arm and began extracting blood, "You wouldn't understand."

"What I understand is that you kidnapped me," said Claire, "What I understand is that you're a psycho." Elle shocked Claire for a third time.

"I've tried to be reasonable but you're making that very hard," said Elle with a cruel grin, "Please, oh pretty please, keep talking like that. I want to make sure this hurts you."


	2. Bad Medicine

Liberate Yourself from Hell (Part Two)

By TheLostMaximoff

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. Remember to keep the reviews coming.

Noah Bennet hated to admit how much he lived for the chase. He was good at it, exceptional even. His track record was flawless. There hadn't been a subject he couldn't bag and tag with the utmost efficiency. Sometimes, it scared Bennet how good at this job he could be. It was one of the many reasons he decided to leave The Company. Looking at Bob was always a reminder that he had made the right decision.

"She took that picture with her," mentioned Bob as the two of them sat in an airplane bound west for California. Bennet's nerves were starting to fray. He was smug but he wasn't smug enough to believe his daughter couldn't be killed. Elle was craftier than anyone gave her credit. Bennet wondered just how long it would take before Elle made Claire _want_ to die.

"Christmas '89," replied Bennet, "That was a good year."

"Yes," admitted Bob, "One of the last ones." Bennet wondered just how exactly Bob viewed what had happened to their friendship. Bennet had a very simple view on that matter. Claire had come into the picture and everything in Bennet's life had changed. While Bennet's life was looking up, Bob's was spiraling into the toilet. While Bennet was keeping his job a secret from his wife, Bob's wife had already walked out on him when she learned the truth. While Bennet was raising Claire and keeping her under the radar, Bob was letting The Company turn Elle into a weapon.

"I never really liked New York," confessed Bennet, "Too much traffic and too many people."

"You were always the 'wide open spaces' type," agreed Bob, "You can think you're some hotshot cowboy like you were back in the day but we both know you're getting older same as me. How long are you going to keep running?"

"How long are you?" countered Bennet, "You may be fine sitting at your desk crunching numbers while I run bag-and-tag missions all day but I'm not anymore. These are people we're hunting and screwing with not animals."

"The times they are a-changin', Noah," reminded Bob, "You can either evolve with them or become extinct. You already died once and it was because of your insane paranoia."

"I died because my 'friend' shot me," corrected Bennet, "It doesn't matter how much we change. We're still going to end up paying for what we've done. I'd at least like to leave this world knowing that my children will mourn me instead of dance on my tombstone."

"Such a nice fantasy," admitted Bob, "I wish I could share that sentiment."

XXXXX

"So how's school, Claire?" asked Elle, lightning dancing from her fingertips, "Oh say how's that little boyfriend of yours? He was kinda cute." She was fighting the urge to electrocute Claire. Elle hated the sight of this pretty, perfect cheerleader with her pretty, perfect family and her pretty, perfect life. The jealousy and envy burned hot in her veins, as hot as the lightning she commanded. She should have Claire's life. She should be the one with the happy parents and the perfect life. Why Claire and not Elle? Did God just have something against her?

"What does your dad want with my blood?" asked Claire, ignoring Elle's inane questions, "Didn't he get enough of it last time?" Elle decided she was going to shock Claire until the younger girl actually said something halfway intelligent. To that end, Elle gave Claire another jolt.

"Do you see Daddy here?" asked Elle rhetorically, "Don't you think he'd do it himself if he wanted it done?" She noticed that the blood bag was full. Normally that would've been enough but Elle was feeling particularly greedy. She stopped the flow long enough to put in an empty bag and then began the process again.

"Not if he can sic you on me instead," retorted Claire, "Or maybe 'Daddy' is pissed off at you and you wanna suck up."

"This isn't for him!" snarled Elle as she grabbed the arms of Claire's chair and put her face inches apart from the cheerleader's, "This is about me. Look at me! I used to be like you but look at me now. I want back what's mine! I want back my life and I swear to God I will bleed you dry if I have to in order to get it!" Claire could see the madness in Elle's eyes dancing like sparks in a light bulb. Yet there was something else in those eyes. Claire remembered going to carnivals and staring into funhouse mirrors that warped and twisted her reflection. That's what she saw in Elle.

"Go ahead and kill me if you think you can," dared Claire.

"Oh you've made me the happiest girl in the world," assured Elle as she dialed up the wattage on her shocks. She was starting to lose control of herself. Elle was addicted to causing pain and that addiction could erase all rational thought from her mind. She noticed that her shocks were causing more serious damage. Claire's wounds weren't healing as fast as they should've been. Elle was losing her focus. She came here for a reason, a very good reason. She was losing sight of that goal.

"Good," encouraged Elle as Claire began to cough violently, "Cough up more of that pretty, magic blood of yours. Give me all of it." Claire spat in Elle's face but the glob was tinted red. Claire felt her insides burn as she tried to heal from the damage but it was happening too slowly. Claire's powers came from her blood and while she could recover from any wound she couldn't magically produce blood faster than any normal human could. If someone took out too much of that blood, there wouldn't be any left to heal her wounds or sustain her life.

"You don't have the guts to kill me," assured Claire weakly, "I don't think you can really do it."

"Oh you _are_ fun," said Elle as the lightning in her hands suddenly grew in intensity, "I might just keep you." Elle suddenly felt her sparks go dim as if something was shorting them out. She tried to reignite them but nothing worked. That was when she felt someone grab the back of her head.

"If you do not stop," explained the Haitian in a low, even tone, "I will take away every happy memory you have."

"You were always such a kidder," said Elle with a sad smile, "I don't _have_ any happy memories."

"We both know that is a lie," replied the Haitian, "You remember your mother's smile. You remember the games she used to play with you and the songs she used to sing to you. You remember what it felt like when you kissed Peter Petrelli. All of that will be gone if you do not let Claire go." Elle felt a horde of conflicting emotions surge through her body and she started to cry. She did have happy memories and, despite appearances to the contrary, they were the only things she had left to cherish.

"Don't," pleaded Elle as she felt something inside her break, " I just want the truth. Please don't take Mom away from me." It was like watching an alcoholic recover from a drinking binge. For a brief moment, Claire saw the clarity and sanity return to Elle's eyes.

"Let her go," ordered the Haitian. Elle nodded and removed the needle from Claire's arm while the Haitian passed her his knife so she could cut Claire loose. The Haitian still kept his hand on Elle's head, a warning in case she tried to double cross him.

"I just wanted the truth," explained Elle, "I don't want to forget my mom. You understand that, right?"

"I get it," assured Claire softly. She remembered how it felt to be desperate for answers. She remembered how she wanted the truth at any cost and she didn't care what lies or illusions she had to destroy to get it. Claire had experience with finding mothers. She was starting to realize that she wasn't so different from Elle. It was fate or God or maybe just dumb luck that her last name was Bennet instead of Bishop. Things could've been a lot worse for her.

"I'm sorry," apologized Elle tearfully, "I didn't mean for it to go that far."

"It's okay," assured Claire as Elle finished cutting her loose.

"Your dad says hi," said Elle as she wiped her eyes, "I think he's coming to kill me."

XXXXX

"She's sloppy." Bennet didn't fully register Bob's words. His mind was focused on driving as his eyes darted to the screen on the tracking unit. He was in the zone now, in that quiet and still space where nothing existed but the objective, the means to complete it, and the obstacles he would overcome to complete it. Bennet was good at his job, too good if you asked him.

"She's your daughter," reminded Bennet as he turned right, "Apples and trees, Bob."

"Now I remember why we haven't spoken to each other as friends in over ten years," said Bob.

"It's been fifteen," corrected Bennet, "You're the bean-counter. I thought you enjoyed accuracy."

"You just won't let that go will you?" asked Bob. Bennet made two more quick turns and the car skidded to a stop in the parking lot of a hotel.

"Tracker says this is it," stated Bennet as he checked his gun before getting out of the car, "Who's running the show?" His mind was already calculating a dozen different scenarios but the important thing was Claire's safety. Bennet had already called the school and was informed that Claire had been checked out by her "cousin" who he assumed was Elle. Bennet knew that Elle was a time bomb that could put everyone around her at risk. His first priority was his daughter's life. His second priority, oddly enough, was Elle's safety. There were two reasons for this. The first was that he had to keep Elle running until he could figure out a way to weasel his way out of the deal he had made with Bob. His second reason was that Bennet felt a little guilty for what Elle had become. He could've helped her. He could've fought for her safety the way he fought for Claire's but because Elle's last name was Bishop and not Bennet he had turned a blind eye. He should've already known what Bob was capable of.

"Is that thing really necessary?" asked Bob as he looked at the gun.

"Think about it for a second and tell me," ordered Bennet, "Did you ever even run a bag-and-tag before now?"

"This isn't a bag-and-tag," corrected Bob, "This is my daughter."

"It's a little too late for getting sentimental," reminded Bennet as he stuffed the gun in his coat and headed for the hotel lobby.

XXXXX

"Your fathers are here," said the Haitian as he watched Elle pack up all of her equipment, "I can help get you out of here but I cannot put myself on their radar."

"Do you know anything about what happened to my mother?" asked Elle.

"I only know that your mother is alive," explained the Haitian, "That is all I can say." Elle felt her heart leap in her throat at the news. She knew she could find her mother. Everything was falling into place. She had more than enough of Claire's blood to restore all her damaged memories and then she and her mother could run away together. Everything was going to turn out alright.

"My dad will probably be the first one in here," explained Claire, "I can try to stall him."

"You don't have to," reminded Elle.

"Hey, whatever it takes to make sure you don't come after me again," replied Claire, "Just go find your mom." Elle nodded as she gave the Haitian the medical kit that contained the blood bags while she carried the laptop case. Both of them headed towards the door and out into the hallway. They moved quickly to the back entrance and down the stairs as quietly as they could. There was a noise above them that sounded like someone breaking a door down. That meant Bob and Bennet weren't far behind them.

"I should really just fry you," reminded Elle as she and the Haitian entered the lobby, "This is all your fault in the first place. You took my life away."

"That was your father's doing," replied the Haitian, "You will see that once your memory has been healed. Do not think it was easy for me to do, Elle. Nothing I have done has ever been easy for me." The Haitian suddenly pulled Elle into an alcove as the elevator door opened and Bob came into the lobby.

"I will deal with him," assured the Haitian, "I will meet you at the airport. Go." Elle nodded as she took the kit from him and moved towards the emergency exit. There was no easy way around this. She threw open the door and ran into the parking lot. The alarm went off and Bob was quick to respond as he moved towards the door. The Haitian grabbed him from behind, locking in a chokehold that would take Bob to the floor. A shot rang out and the Haitian felt pain in his arm. He released the hold and let Bob fall to the floor.

"We have to stop meeting like this," said Bennet, "My wife would get suspicious. Did you tell Elle anything about her mother?"

"I told her she was alive," replied the Haitian as he pressed his other hand to his wound.

"Interesting," said Bennet in a tone of genuine surprise, "You disappear while I go after her. She needs to know where to run to next."

XXXXX

Elle almost threw her bags in the car when she suddenly noticed something. Her tires were a suspicious silver color. She knelt down and tapped one of them, discovering that it was no longer made out of rubber but metal instead.

"Oh you are clever, Daddy," said Elle as she popped open the trunk and grabbed her other bag. She was going to have to steal a car and she was going to have to do it quickly. Now was no time to be picky. Elle took off one of her heels and proceeded to bash it through the window of a nearby car. She kept hitting it until there was a hole big enough to slip her arm through so she could unlock the door. Running in heels was terribly overrated anyway.

"Oh bother," muttered Elle as she tried to remember how to hotwire a car. She put her luggage in the back of the car and then attempted to recall what her trainers had told her. She finally decided to just do it her way. Elle put her finger to the ignition and sent a tiny jolt through it that started the car. She didn't need any fancy skills when she had her ability. Elle was about to hit the gas when she felt something press against her temple.

"If you move, I will put a bullet in your skull," assured Bennet, "That's the second time you've almost killed my daughter. You're really trying my patience, Elle."

"You never told me my mother was still alive," said Elle as she turned her head so that Bennet's gun was now against her forehead.

"I didn't know," admitted Bennet, "Your father never said anything about your mother once she left him. I couldn't have pried that information out of him even if I tried and I never wanted to try."

"How do I find her?" asked Elle.

"Did you send that email yet?" asked Bennet.

"Haven't gotten a reply," said Elle.

"There's a tracker in that computer," explained Bennet, "Hana can take care of it for you among other things. I don't know where to find your mother but I know someone who can. There's a little girl named 'Molly Walker'. Have Hana look her up."

"Why are you helping me?" asked Elle skeptically.

"Better late than never," said Bennet, "You're going to have to zap me."

"I know," assured Elle as she suddenly grabbed the gun's barrel, "I'll feel terrible about it but I'll get over it quickly." She sent a jolt through the gun into Bennet's body that promptly threw him backwards and incapacitated him. Elle quickly backed the car out of the parking space and headed out of the parking lot. She fished the directions to the airport out of her pocket and quickly began following them.

XXXXX

The Haitian was a no-show which meant that Elle was stuck doing her own dirty work. She found a place at the airport where she could connect to the internet and check her email. She was pleased to discover a reply to her email. At least Bennet wasn't just screwing around with her. Not that Elle minded playing games. She was just used to being a player instead of a pawn. Or was she always a pawn who simply thought she was a player? Elle filed that thought away for later use like she had done so many times in her life. At the moment, Hana wanted her cell phone number so they could talk. Elle typed in the number and sent it to her. Two seconds later, Elle's phone rang.

"You're lucky your phone has an internet connection," said a static-filled voice, "Otherwise this would be more difficult."

"Where exactly are you?" asked Elle, "Reception is terrible."

"I'm inside your phone," explained Hana Gitelman, "The reception is terrible because I don't have a physical body. I suppose that should teach me not to run suicide missions for our friend, Mr. Bennet."

"Then what are you?" asked Elle.

"The ghost in the machine," replied Hana, "Your computer has a tracking program in it. I took the liberty of disabling it for you. I also found the folder you mentioned and took off the password lock on it. Is there anything else you need?"

"I need you to look up a girl named 'Molly Walker'," explained Elle, "Bennet said she could help me find my mother."

"Keep your phone connected to the internet," ordered Hana, "I'll call back when I've found her." The call ended and Elle stared at the phone wondering what exactly Bennet had gotten her involved in. Could she really trust him? The question continually nagged her. Again, Elle chose not to think about these things but that choice was getting harder and harder to make. This journey was about finding the truth and regaining lost things. Maybe the hard truth she had yet to learn was that some lost things weren't worth regaining. Elle sat and watched the normal people come and go until her phone rang again.

"Found her," said Hana, "Molly Walker's place of residence is listed as New York City along with her legal guardian, Matt Parkman. I checked Parkman out and found out he's been spending a lot of time in Odessa, Texas lately. I'll send you a list of the places his credit card turned up."

"He could've taken the girl with him," said Elle, "The Company has a facility in Odessa. It might be worth the trip to check it out and see if it has anything."

"If you're using their cards they'll probably have them canceled soon," reminded Hana, "Text me the numbers for the cards and I'll see if I can create a few glitches in the system that will keep them active."

"I'll do that after I hang up," assured Elle, "I think it's time for my medication." Elle hung up the phone and started typing in the numbers for her credit cards. She hated text messaging. There had to be an easier way to type than using your thumbs. After finishing her task, Elle quickly moved to the desk.

"I need a flight to Odessa, Texas," explained Elle.

"Round trip?" asked the girl behind the counter.

"One-way," corrected Elle.

"I can get you to Midland," replied the girl, "It's only about thirty minutes away from Odessa."

"Whatever's closest," said Elle as she passed the girl one of her credit cards, "When does the next one leave?"

"It'll be another thirty minutes," replied the girl as she swiped the card and waited for the ticket to print out. Elle exhaled in annoyance, the draft brushing aside a few strands of her hair as she took the ticket from the girl and then grabbed the medical kit. Elle headed into the bathroom and checked to make sure it was completely empty. Elle stepped into one of the stalls and locked the door. She took out the syringe and began to fill it with Claire's blood.

"Does the body good," whispered Elle as she inserted the needle into her arm and injected herself with a full dose. She was almost thrown off her feet as she felt herself slide into a flashback.


	3. Dead Like Me

Liberate Yourself from Hell (Part Three)

By TheLostMaximoff

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters.

_Elle feels like everything is happening in slow motion. Her vision is hazy and all the noise around her seems far and distant. She feels the hands of the lab technicians on her as they strap her down. Is this an operation? Don't you have to count backwards from a hundred or something?_

"_Open," says one of the doctors. Elle feels her mouth flop open and something is inserted into it._

"_Bite down," orders the doctor. Elle complies, her muscles sluggish and weak. She's vaguely aware that something bad is going to happen but she can't do anything about it._

"_Lower the dosage next time," suggests the doctor, "I still can't believe you can't get it right." Elle feels something sticky on her head like band-aids. The lab boys all leave the room after their work is finished. Elle wants to say something but her mouth is full and her muscles won't work right. Her glazed eyes look at the window in the wall where her father sits along with some other people she doesn't recognize._

"_Start the test," orders Daddy. Somewhere a switch is thrown and suddenly Elle's body comes alive as she feels the electricity course through her veins. Her body thrashes violently against the straps as they shock her again. She cries in pain and agony but the shocks don't let up. She doesn't know what they want her to do. She's scared and needs Daddy to tell her what to do._

"_You know what to do, Elle," says Daddy. Something in Elle snaps and suddenly the lightning is coming out of her instead of going in. Sadness turns to rage and Elle feels alive with power. She looks through the glass at her father and sees him slightly grin. Elle cranks up her voltage output, determined to make Daddy smile. Pain is the answer, the key. It all revolves around pain. Daddy's little girl is tough. She can take the pain as long as it makes him smile. Elle's vision is lost in a haze of sparks as she passes out from the exertion._

"_Good job," says Daddy as Elle feels herself slip away into the darkness. She can't see him smiling but she knows he is._

XXXXX

Elle fought the urge to scream as she slowly began to return to reality. Her consciousness swam up from the darkness of the flashback and pulled her back to the here and now. She found herself huddled in the corner of a bathroom stall in the airport. She checked her watch and realized only ten minutes had passed since she had injected herself with a dose of Claire's blood. Her breath came in heavy, short gasps as she struggled to bring her body under her control again. It had taken ten minutes for her to relive a memory that had been created some fourteen years ago and then erased with no more afterthought than one would erase a scribble on a piece of paper.

"And the truth will set me free," muttered Elle as she got herself under control to the degree that she could start packing up her equipment. She knew now, knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that her father was a monster who had turned her into this hideous thing she was now. Elle could still see him smiling as he watched his daughter go through electroshock in some cruel effort to jumpstart her power. She'd make him pay for that; oh how she'd make him pay. Elle packed up her things and then headed out of the bathroom. She had a flight to catch and by the time her father and Bennet came here she'd already be in the air. She had to find Molly Walker so the girl could tell her where to find her mother. She also wouldn't mind breaking into Primatech Paper while she was in Odessa. The way she was feeling right now, Elle would gladly take the opportunity to kill a few Company stooges.

XXXXX

"What's our situation?" asked Bennet as Bob sat down next to him. His skin still stung from the shock that Elle had given him. As long as he lived, Bennet would never get used to that sensation.

"The girl at the counter was very helpful once I showed her this," assured Bob as he opened his wallet and put back the fake ID he had that said he was a member of the FBI, "She got on a flight for Odessa. Why exactly would she be running there?"

"Primatech Paper is there," reminded Bennet, "I've heard you keep a lot of nasty things stored there. Why exactly wasn't I informed of this when I was running that facility?"

"You didn't need to know," replied Bob, "All you needed to concern yourself with was tracking people with dangerous abilities. You were middle management, Noah. That's all you ever were."

"Secrets have a way of coming back to haunt you," reminded Bennet, "Is there anything in that facility she won't want to find?"

"There are things in that facility that could put the entire world at risk if they fell into the hands of someone like Elle," replied Bob bluntly, "She's childish, immature, and reckless. Not exactly the type of person you want carrying around the weight of the world."

"She won't go for those things," assured Bennet, "She found out about her mother somehow. She'll go after whatever can lead her there." Bennet was formulating a few contingency plans in his head. He didn't understand why Elle would be going to Odessa when, last he checked, Molly Walker was in New York. He knew Elle was flighty and unpredictable but he didn't regard her as stupid until possibly now. He would have to send a couple emails to Hana and see how things played out. It was all about maneuvering the pieces until they fell into their proper places. The game was still going his way but he would have to make a few adjustments to his strategy. That was a headache Bennet didn't need at this point.

"How did she manage to do that?" asked Bob with a wary look in Bennet's direction.

"The Haitian was at the hotel," reminded Bennet, "He must've said something. She was _your_ wife, Bob, not mine. I at least keep track of the things I care about."

"I'm sure that helps you sleep at night," replied Bob, "The only thing we can do now is wait for another flight to Midland and try to catch up from there."

"Sounds fantastic," said Bennet sarcastically.

XXXXX

The sun was setting by the time she landed in Midland. Elle had attempted to sleep through the flight but her dreams were still the same as ever. She was getting close to something though. Elle could feel it in her bones that she was on the cusp of something though she had no clue what it could be. She felt different now, a little bit more whole than she had before. She decided it was because of the injection. She couldn't shake thoughts of her mother. Elle wondered how her mother had escaped The Company's watchful eye for so long. They should've killed her but somehow she had managed to slip away. This made Elle smile. Her mother was too clever to get caught it seemed. As she slid herself into the driver's seat of her rented car, Elle smiled at the thought of what would happen when she finally saw her mother again. She hoped her mother would recognize her. The last time they had seen each other was when Elle was six years old but surely her mother would recognize her. Elle knew her mother was a good person. That was probably why she had left. Elle wished she could've gone with her mother but Daddy probably stopped that from happening. There was no way her father could stop her now, not when she was so close to getting back everything she had lost.

"Good thing this isn't a long drive," muttered Elle as she continually played with the radio, trying in vain to find a station that didn't play country music. She finally turned the thing off and settled for silence. She started humming a tune as she continued driving. She would get to Odessa before nightfall. That gave her enough time to ask around about Parkman before she decided to raid the Primatech facility. Everything was working out splendidly and Elle felt giddy with excitement about how well this was going. She continued humming the tune that was stuck in her head. It was one of the songs her mother used to sing to her when she was little. Elle relished the fact that she would no longer forget that song.

XXXXX

Primatech was dark and still as Elle approached it. The normal employees, the ones that worked the ground floor, had all gone home for the night as she had suspected they would. She studied the coded lock that kept her from entering the building before pressing her hand against it and zapping it. There were a few sparks as the panel shorted out and the door clicked open. Elle crept inside and immediately pressed herself up against a wall in case her entrance had alerted anyone on the lower floors. There was always security for the lower levels but it seemed she had slipped into the building unnoticed. Elle began walking down the main hall. She had settled on wearing plain sneakers for this due to the noise heels would make. Elle never liked sneakers. They were too comfortable for her taste. It was yet another thing in her life that revolved around pain. Comfort was never an option for Elle.

"Interesting," said Elle as she saw the body of a security guard lying on the floor close to the elevator. She slowly reached into the man's pockets and quickly relieved him of his keycard before pushing the button for the elevator. She noted the facility was much nicer than the one at Hartsdale. Elle tried not to let it bother her that once again Bennet got all the nice things in life. She stepped into the elevator and swiped the keycard through a reader. The elevator automatically selected a floor for her and began its descent. Elle wondered just who else was sneaking around in here besides her as the elevator doors opened and she stepped out into the underground tunnel. She passed more bodies as she roamed the corridors. There wasn't a mark on any of them and she could tell they were still breathing.

"Well that just takes the fun out of everything," said Elle as she looked around for a computer terminal. That was when some invisible force suddenly pushed her against a wall. Elle struggled as a man stepped around a corner and approached her. For a brief instant, Elle assumed it to be Sylar come to take some measure of revenge for what she had done to him last time they had met. Elle looked into the man's eyes and suddenly realized she was completely wrong.

"Why couldn't I read your mind?" asked Peter Petrelli, "All I got was static."

"Well howdy to you too, Mr. Grouch," retorted Elle, "You know, Peter, you could've just told me you liked to play rough. I'm more than happy to give it a go."

"Answer the question," ordered Peter.

"I don't know," replied Elle truthfully, "I guess it's because of my power or something. As long as we're playing twenty questions I think it's my turn. What the hell are you doing here?"

"Digging," replied Peter simply as he dismissively waved his hand and let Elle out of his telekinetic grip. He turned his back on her and walked back down the hallway. He counted the steps until he felt the lightning bolt he knew was coming hit him in the back.

"Is that all I get?" asked Elle in an irritated tone, "I don't get a 'Sorry for running away from you, Elle' or a 'Hey what're you doing here'?"

"I don't care," said Peter simply as the burn mark on his back healed, "If you want to stop me then you can try but right now I've got more important things to worry about." Peter continued walking. Elle muttered a curse at him and trailed after him, interested to see what he was up to.

"What'd you do to everyone?" asked Elle.

"Parkman taught me a couple tricks," explained Peter, "They won't be out for very long. I intended to make this quick."

"Wait, you know Matt Parkman?" asked Elle, "I need to get in touch with him. Well, I really need to get in touch with Molly Walker but he's her guardian so he'll do."

"Your Company buddies need to ruin someone else's life?" asked Peter spitefully. That earned him another shock from Elle. She couldn't believe how cold he was being. It certainly wasn't the Peter Petrelli she remembered. Of course she wasn't exactly the same Elle she had been those months ago. Everything was changing it seemed.

"For your information," said Elle, "I'm not working for them anymore. In fact, my father and Bennet are probably on my ass as we speak."

"Good for you," said Peter as he entered an office and studied the active computer, "I guess you won't care when we expose what The Company's been doing."

"How do you plan on doing that?" asked Elle curiously.

"Right now I'm copying all their files," explained Peter as he gestured to the computer, "That's what I came here to do. Parkman and I are going to take this stuff public."

"Oh," said Elle as she stood there and stared at Peter, trying to see if there was still anything left in him that she remembered, "Did you find any files on there about me or my mother?"

"I didn't have time to check all of them over," explained Peter, "Still don't. What do you need Molly for?"

"My mom's alive," explained Elle, "Bennet said Molly could find her."

"I'll take you to Molly after I'm done with this," assured Peter, "Watch the door and make sure no one wakes up while we're still here." Elle stood close to the door and checked to make sure no one was coming towards them. She couldn't help stealing glances at Peter while he stared absently at the computer screen. She could tell he was different. Something had changed him but it wasn't like the change she herself had experienced. Peter was darker now, grimmer than she remembered him being. There was a cold harshness in his voice and his movements that Elle didn't enjoy seeing at all.

"What happened to you?" asked Elle quietly.

"They murdered my brother," replied Peter with very little emotion in his voice.

"I'm sorry," said Elle, needlessly apologizing for something that wasn't her fault and she couldn't change.

"Don't say that unless you mean it," warned Peter as he glared at her. Elle felt herself shrink down to a little girl under his gaze. Ordinarily, the person who spoke to her in that tone would end up a hunk of blackened meat and bones but Peter always had some sort of way with her. She wondered if he possessed some secret superpower that made her feel like a schoolgirl around him.

"I do mean it," assured Elle meekly as she found herself studying the floor, "Peter, I . . ." Peter held up his hand to silence her as he cocked his head to the side and listened intently.

"Someone's thinking in Japanese," said Peter. Elle wrinkled up her nose at Peter's statement but suddenly the crack of a pistol echoed down the halls and she felt a burning pain in the side of her arm. She spun around to see Bennet holding a smoking gun. Another shot rang out, this time connecting with her chest. Elle hit the floor hard and felt the blood begin to pour from her wounds.

"Two bullets probably doesn't equal one shock but that's inflation for you these days," said Bennet as he turned his gun towards Peter. Peter could tell that Bob and a squad of armed guards were behind Bennet but that didn't matter to him in the slightest. The only reasons he decided to take it easy on Bennet were because he was Claire's father and Elle mentioned he had helped her. Peter flicked his hand to the right and Bennet's gun came out of his hands and flew across the room. A telekinetic shove sent the company man backwards and into the hall. The commando next in line was suddenly thrown up into the ceiling before being slammed back down on the floor. While the guard's allies watched this spectacle, Peter calmly walked out of the room and into the hallway. One guard promptly got his jaw broken thanks to one super-strong punch from Peter. The other one writhed in pain as an arc of lightning shot from Peter's hand and zapped him to the floor.

"You're lucky your daughter needs my attention more than you do," stated Peter as he looked at Bob in disgust and then turned away. He waved his hand as an afterthought and launched Bob down the hall with his telekinesis. Peter then knelt down beside Elle and cradled her in his arms.

"Hotel," whispered Elle as she clutched to him like a life raft, "Help me." Peter reached into her mind with his telepathy and shoved past the static. He managed to get the name of the hotel and her room number out of her head and that was all he needed. He grabbed the flash drive he had been using to download all the facility's files and then put his hand on Elle's shoulder. It only took a second for them to disappear.

XXXXX

"Blood," mumbled Elle. Peter arched an eyebrow as he opened the medical kit and realized what exactly was in it. He wondered exactly where Elle had gotten such special supplies but he didn't dwell heavily on it. Peter grabbed the syringe and loaded it with blood before going over to where Elle was laying on one of the room's beds. He quickly jammed the needle into her arm and injected her with a full dose of Claire's blood.

"Elle?" asked Peter as he noticed the look in Elle's eyes change. Elle felt herself hurling backwards in time as if someone had pushed a rewind button on her life. Her eyes started to glaze over as she began seeing things that weren't really there. There were more tests like the one she had re-experienced earlier. They never stopped no matter how much she pleaded for them to. She wanted so much to please her father.

"Elle, look at me," ordered Peter as he tried to make eye contact with her. Elle's eyes locked with his but she didn't even see him. She suddenly began to thrash violently, screaming in pure terror.

"Elle, look at me!" ordered Peter as he put his hands on the side of her head and forced her to stare into his eyes.

"Stop!" cried Elle, "Please tell them to stop!"

"Elle, it's Peter," explained Peter, "You're not a little girl anymore. Listen to me!" Peter grabbed Elle and hugged her tightly as she started sobbing. She wasn't a little girl anymore but she still carried the pain with her. Elle sobbed as she came out of the flashback. Peter simply held her as her body shuddered and convulsed until she finally calmed down.

"Who's blood was that?" asked Peter when Elle finally seemed back to relatively normal.

"Claire's," replied Elle, her voice muffled by Peter's shirt, "I need it to remember what my father did to me." Peter cupped her chin and tilted her head up so he could look into her eyes. They were both broken now and maybe for the first time Peter could see it in her eyes. Elle was trapped in a nightmarish existence and had been for fifteen plus years.

"Why did he do it?" asked Elle tearfully, "Why did he do this to me?"

"I wish I knew," whispered Peter softly, "I wish I could save you." Peter Petrelli had learned hard truths about life. Sometimes the hero couldn't save the people he loved the most. Sometimes all he could do was slowly watch the world crumble around him and turn to dust while still clinging to some outdated code of conduct that the world had forgotten. There were no rules anymore. There was no fair play or justice. Peter Petrelli wasn't a hero anymore because when he lost Nathan he lost his conscience as well. He and Elle had lost so many things and they couldn't regain them no matter how hard they tried.

"I wish _I_ could save _you_," admitted Elle. She could see a spark in his eyes as if the Peter she knew was trying to break through to the surface but as soon as the words came out of her mouth she saw the spark die and Peter quickly moved away from her.

"We'll stay here for the night," explained Peter, "In the morning, I'll take you to Molly and she can help you find your mother. I need to call Parkman and tell him the mission wasn't much of a success. You need to rest."

"What if Daddy comes after us?" asked Elle.

"He'll get worse than I already gave him," assured Peter, "Get some sleep. I'll keep watch." Elle was too tired and worn out to argue with him.

XXXXX

"This has got to be the most frustrating bag-and-tag I've ever done," stated Bennet as he picked himself up from the floor and looked at the mess Peter had made with their backup.

"Petrelli was an unexpected annoyance," agreed Bob, "We're going to need to prepare for him before we continue the chase."

"As far as I know we _can't_ prepare for him," said Bennet, "The man has a list of abilities a mile long and he can just rewrite his entire DNA to add more entries to it. We'd need someone like the Haitian who can block abilities to even make this a fair fight."

"I don't recall you doing this much whining when you were our top employee," said Bob, "I'm sure that constantly-working mind of yours can come up with a few ideas. What we really need is an idea on where Elle plans to go next. She obviously won't come back here unless I completely failed in my duties as a father and she has no common sense at all."

"I'm not even going to touch that one," assured Bennet, "I did manage to confront her in Costa Verde. I _might've_ happened to mention the name 'Molly Walker'."

"Why would you drag her into this?" asked Bob.

"Because we know exactly where she is," explained Bennet, "I assume she's still in Suresh's care. That means Molly's in New York and that means we know exactly where Elle will show up. They'll probably recuperate for the rest of the night. That gives us time to get to New York and set up a trap for them."

"You do not disappoint," admitted Bob, "Admit it, Noah, you're enjoying this challenge. You were always one for the chase."

"The only thing I enjoy is the fact that my concerns all those years ago have now been justified," assured Bennet, "If I still enjoyed hunting down people like dogs then I wouldn't have left The Company. I'd say you're the one who's enjoying this and, frankly, it's sickening."

"Sticks and stones, dear Noah," reminded Bob, "Hurry up. We need to get to New York by sunrise."


	4. Get Molly

Liberate Yourself from Hell (Part Four)

By TheLostMaximoff

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters.

_Elle nervously looks at the shore as the waves roll in. She doesn't trust the water for some odd reason. It's new and different which makes it scary in her six-year-old mind. It's not that she hates the beach because really she loves it. It's just that she has this thing about water, this irrational fear that something bad will happen if she comes in contact with it. She barely can take a bath and most of the time that's because Mommy's there with her to make sure nothing bad happens._

"_Go on, sweetie," prods Mommy, "There's nothing wrong with the water."_

"_It's scary," says Elle as she looks up at her mother, "I don't like it." She feels bad for admitting it. This is, after all, her first trip to the beach and from the way Daddy talked it probably won't happen very often. She hates living in Ohio_ _because it's just no fun. She feels bad for not wanting to get in the water. She doesn't want to ruin the vacation._

"_It won't hurt you," assures Mommy as she takes Elle's hand and leads her towards the water, "C'mon, I'll go with you." Elle nervously follows her mother and gets to the shore before she digs in her heels and refuses to take another step. She wants to have fun, really she does, but she can't seem to get herself to move forward._

"_You promise it won't hurt?" asks Elle as she looks at her mother._

"_I promise, sweetheart," assures Mommy as she leads Elle out into the water. Elle closes her eyes tight and steps into the water, moving farther and farther in until she's completely surrounded by it. She waits for something bad to happen but nothing happens. It feels nice in the water, nice and calm and peaceful. Elle slowly opens her eyes and then realizes things have changed. She's twenty-four years old now and Mommy is nowhere to be found. She's just treading water in the middle of nowhere trying to stay afloat. The water is a dark, murky, scummy color and as Elle tries to head back to shore but something starts to suck her under._

"_Mommy!" cries Elle as she struggles to fight against the hellish undertow. It's like heavy weights are attached to her ankles and she struggles to fight against their pull. She flails and screams for help but no matter how hard she tries she just can't save herself. She's scared of what's down there in the dark ugliness that lies below the surface. She can feel herself almost gone, almost devoured by the ocean. She screams as the current finally pulls her under and down into the abyss._

XXXXX

Elle pounded her fist in frustration as she woke up. She thought she was getting better now that more of her memories were coming back and she was getting so close to finding her mother. Why was it she still couldn't go to sleep without having some sort of nightmare? Elle yawned and wearily sat up, looking at the body that occupied the other bed in the hotel room. She watched Peter sleep and noticed that he seemed more weathered than usual. She wondered what he was dreaming about. Was his sleep filled with nightmares too? Elle got up from her bed and moved to sit down on Peter's. She slowly moved her hand down his cheek, her fingertips tracing the contours of his face until they stopped at his chin. She gently tapped his nose and sent a tiny spark into him. Peter's eyes shot open and he looked at her before muttering something she couldn't make out and then getting out of bed. Elle's brief smile faded away as she realized Peter wasn't interested in playing games with her anymore. She supposed it was her fault in the first place. Elle was a compulsive manipulator and not even the genuine feelings she had felt for Peter could break her of that habit.

"You've changed a lot," admitted Elle, "I miss you."

"We all have to grow up some time," said Peter, "Shower, change clothes, do whatever you need to do. We're leaving as soon as we can." Elle just nodded as Peter headed into the bathroom.

XXXXX

"So when exactly do I get the full story on whatever happened to the mysterious Mary Bishop?" Noah Bennet was a humble man. Living in a world full of people who could bench press cars and fire lasers from various parts of their bodies had a way of humbling a man. Noah Bennet didn't have any such special talents but what he did have was a very keen intellect. Of course, even a mind like his wasn't required to put two and two together. If Mary Bishop was alive then it was most likely that her husband, Robert, was the one who had made it so. Bennet knew that if Mary Bishop knew anything at all about her husband and his workplace then she would already be dead or worse. Perhaps Bob was a sentimental fool after all.

"That's not anything you should concern yourself with," said Bob as the two of them sat in the car and watched an apartment building across the street.

"I'm guessing you know where she is," said Bennet, "You told upper management you'd handle it yourself but you just couldn't do it. Am I right?"

"I _am_ upper management," retorted Bob bitterly, "Is there really any reason we should go into this?"

"If we fail to stop Elle this time then we should know where she's running next," reminded Bennet, "I'm merely being pragmatic."

"You're rubbing salt in wounds," corrected Bob, "It was in 1990, a few months after Christmas. That's when Elle burnt down her grandmother's house. Mary and I talked about what we should do. I wanted to bring Elle in but Mary wouldn't stand for it. She thought she could just pretend like nothing happened, like Elle was normal. I showed her what I could do and told her that 'normal' was never an option for people like Elle and I."

"Touching," said Bennet, "Did you tell her about The Company?"

"She looked into things," admitted Bob, "She confronted me with what she'd found and, well, one thing lead to another. She walked out that night."

"Company policy says you should've killed her," reminded Bennet.

"You can think whatever you will of me, Noah," said Bob, "I loved Mary. There was no way I was going to kill someone I loved."

"So you let her walk?" asked Bennet in disbelief.

"That's the funny thing about the world," said Bob with a sad smile, "It believes what it wants to believe. Be honest when you answer me this question, Noah. If you were just a random person on the street, an average guy working the old nine to five, and someone came up to you and told you about little girls who can shoot lightning or cheerleaders who can jump off buildings without getting hurt would you honestly believe a word they said?"

"So, you had her committed?" asked Bennet skeptically.

"I let nature take its course," corrected Bob as he motioned to the building, "Suresh is here and the girl is with him. I told him to pull her out of school. We need to take her somewhere safe."

"Somehow I doubt anyone is really safe with you," said Bennet.

XXXXX

Elle came out of the bathroom and saw Peter hunched over the table writing something. She arched her eyebrow as he continued scribbling at a frenetic pace. He kept stopping and leaning back, staring at the paper as if waiting for something to magically appear. Then he would go back to scribbling.

"Peter?" asked Elle as she came over to him, "What're you doing?" Peter didn't answer. Elle could see he was drawing something. She looked at him and noticed that his eyes were completely white.

"Peter," said Elle in a slightly more distressed tone as she snapped her fingers in front of his face. It was like she wasn't even in the same universe as him. Elle wasn't going to waste time being nice anymore. She zapped Peter, the lightning sparking something that snapped him out of his trance.

"What the hell was that?" asked Elle as Peter looked at what he had drawn.

"Yeah, the eyes are always creepy," said Peter as he studied the picture, "See anyone you recognize?" Elle actually took more time to look at Peter's picture and suddenly she realized what he meant.

"Daddy and Bennet," said Elle, "So? It's just a picture."

"My guess is that this is probably happening now or maybe a couple minutes ahead of now," explained Peter, "That's Parkman's apartment building. That's Molly there on the sidewalk and _that_ is your Company man Mohinder Suresh with her. Mohinder's also her guardian."

"Wait, Suresh works for them but he lives with Parkman who's helping you?" asked Elle, trying to get everything straight.

"Makes for interesting conversation at family dinner," assured Peter, "Mohinder doesn't know anything so no worries there. What concerns me is that this picture basically tells me we can't go to the apartment first. We're going to have to go to Matt's office and plan our next move from there."

"You can draw the future?" asked Elle with an arch of her eyebrow, "Do you always do this before you go somewhere?"

"A month ago I'm standing right next to my brother at a press conference in Odessa," explained Peter as he looked at Elle, "I'm actually thinking we're about to finally win a round against these people and then my big brother gets shot in the chest and dies in my arms. If it's all the same, I think I'll pass on any future surprises."

"We'll leave once I change," explained Elle as she gestured to the towel she was wearing, "Flattering as this is I don't think it's in this season."

"Do it quickly," ordered Peter, "We need to figure out what to do before they decide to move Molly." Elle nodded as she went in the bathroom with her outfit in her hands and came back minutes later fully clothed.

"What time does our flight leave?" asked Elle.

"Grab your bags," said Peter, "Whatever you want to take with you needs to be at your side." Elle did as she was told although she didn't exactly do it with a very cheery disposition. Peter wasn't exactly concerned with Elle's mood.

"You never told me about our . . ." began Elle as Peter grabbed her hand. In around the time it took her to blink, Elle found herself standing in New York City.

"I don't do airplanes," explained Peter, "This way is much quicker and much cheaper. C'mon, we need to tell Matt what's going on." Peter headed towards the building that was home to the NYPD. Elle grabbed her bags and followed him inside.

XXXXX

"I can't get involved in this," stated Matt Parkman, "Do you understand what this is going to do to Molly? If she finds out that the two people she trusts are at war with each other then it's going to tear her apart."

"I don't like it any more than you do," assured Peter, "I'd just like to have a little more firepower for this."

"Firepower?" asked Matt, "With you around what more firepower do we really need, Peter?" Elle spun around in Parkman's desk chair as she listened to Matt and Peter argue. She didn't exactly like it when people argued in front of her. It brought back a lot of unpleasant memories.

"Look," spoke up Elle, "I don't wanna be a homewrecker or anything. All I need is for Molly to do whatever it is she does that finds people. How long will it take to do that?"

"That's not the problem," said Peter, "The problem is getting to Molly so she can do her thing."

"I can work in the background a little," admitted Parkman, "I'll give you some heads-up but I'm not going to expose myself or what we're doing until we can take down The Company for good."

"Works for me," said Peter, "We'll take my car over there."

"I thought you didn't do the usual transportation," reminded Elle.

"Some days I just like to pretend that at least one part of my life is normal," explained Peter as he headed for the door.

"Is he always like this?" asked Elle as she looked at Parkman.

"You should've seen him a month ago," replied Parkman, "I'm the one that suggested we do this quietly. Peter would've just gone to Primatech and blown the place sky high then made his way to the next facility to repeat the process. Losing Nathan really messed him up."

"I can tell," said Elle sadly as she grabbed her things and ran to catch up with him.

XXXXX

"There has to be a better way of doing things than this," stated Mohinder Suresh.

"I'm afraid there's not much time for debate," reminded Bob, "Take Molly and go to your lab. We're going to wait here and try to ambush Elle and whoever else she might bring with her."

"If Peter Petrelli is with her then I don't see how it's possible for you to stop them," said Mohinder.

"I can stop my daughter," assured Bob, "I assume Noah can handle Petrelli. It only takes one bullet through his head to put him down for good."

"I'm sure I can manage that," said Bennet confidently, "On the off chance that I can't, how's your marksmanship these days, Mohinder? Have you had to kill anyone else lately?"

"You were the one that brought that on yourself," reminded Mohinder.

"Actually I was referring to the fact that you were aiming for my forehead and hit my eye," explained Bennet, "That makes you a terrible shot."

"I didn't exactly have time to aim for anywhere specific," assured Mohinder, "It was never my intention to kill you."

"And the road to Hell receives a nice, shiny, new brick," said Bennet, "You just worry about keeping Molly safe. We'll do our jobs."

"Maybe one of you will," said Mohinder as he went into the other room to fetch Molly, "The other one, well, I'm not so sure about." Bennet watched Mohinder take Molly out of the apartment before turning to see what Bob was doing. He watched as his old friend began changing the composition of the clothes he was wearing.

"Silicone rubber," explained Bob, "It's the type of insulation they use for high voltage power lines. Not exactly high style but it should do the job."

"So do I get the makeover too?" asked Bennet.

"You always pride yourself on that big brain of yours, Noah," reminded Bob with a smirk as he worked his magic on his gloves and then slipped them on, "I think I'll leave you to your own devices."

XXXXX

"This is just going to be smash and grab," explained Peter as he and Elle sat in the car, "We get in, you get what you need, and then we get out. Simple and quick." Elle nodded her head in agreement. She wasn't here to start a war. The only thing she was here for was to find out where her mother was hiding. She could care less what Peter and Parkman were up to. The only thing she cared about was her mission.

"You ready?" asked Peter.

"Well I was going to see if you'd give me this huge, passionate kiss but I guess that only works in movies," replied Elle sarcastically, "Let's just get this over with." Peter smirked as he grabbed her shoulder and teleported both of them inside the apartment.

'_Look out!'_ warned Matt telepathically. Peter had time to turn towards the sound of movement before a bullet hit him in the chest. Bennet wasn't going to give him the luxury of healing. He began emptying a full clip into Peter's chest, intending to push the empath's healing factor to the limit so he couldn't have time to employ any of his other abilities.

"I told you it only took one to his head," admonished Bob, "Elle, stop playing games and come home now."

"Oh, Daddy, you have no idea how long I've waited for this," assured Elle with a wicked grin as her hands lit up with electricity and she fired a bolt of lightning at her father. Unfortunately, Bob had already predicted this attack and the new insulation he had given his clothing held up to his expectations. The lightning bolt struck Bob but didn't do any real damage to him.

"I'm not in the mood for your childishness," stated Bob as he approached her, "Don't make me hurt you."

"It's too late for that, dear Daddy," said Elle as she closed the gap between them and struck first, her fist colliding with Bob's jaw, "Much too late." Elle didn't really have any formal training when it came to hand-to-hand combat but she at least knew how to throw a decent punch. Bob took the first one but grabbed Elle's wrist as she tried to connect with a second.

"In all these years I have never once laid a hand on you," stated Bob as he looked at Elle in disappointment before twisting her arm behind her back.

"You did worse than that," said Elle as she struggled against him. She started letting off shocks but again the insulation on Bob's clothing kept him from being affected. Elle upped the voltage and finally ended up creating a shock that blew her and Bob in opposite directions with both of them taking the pain.

"I suppose I should consider this a waste of bullets," said Bennet as he shot Peter again, "Really though The Company's the one paying for them so I don't have to worry about expenses." He let up long enough to watch Peter cough up blood and a few of the bullets his healing factor had already managed to work out of his system. Bennet took another clip out of his coat and quickly began to reload his gun. Peter turned and spat one of the bullets at Bennet, grazing his forehead with it and distracting him. He coughed again and felt the last of the bullets pass out of his system.

"Do you have any idea how disgusting that is?" asked Peter as he struggled to his feet, "I hate it when I have to do that." He grabbed Bennet's gun and moved it aside while his other hand went for the man's throat. Peter slammed him against the wall and held him there.

"Where's Molly Walker?" asked Peter, "I'm only going to ask you one time." Peter's grip was like a vice as he began to squeeze Bennet's throat. He suddenly felt someone grab the back of his head.

"If you don't put him down then your head will be my new paperweight," assured Bob. Peter could feel himself absorbing Bob's ability but he still didn't know if the man could transmute flesh and bone into anything he wanted. What Peter did know was that if Bob could do such a thing then it would effectively kill him and there would be no coming back from it this time.

"Daddy just leave him alone," ordered Elle, "I'm the one you want. Just take me back home and leave Peter alone."

"No!" replied Peter, "I've got this under control, Elle. You're too close to the end to give up now."

"None of us are getting any younger here," reminded Bennet. Peter narrowed his eyes and stared at Bennet. He couldn't employ his telepathy while his super strength was still turned on but he wasn't the only telepath around.

'_Do you have the location yet?'_ asked Peter telepathically.

'_I'm about to get it from Bennet,'_ assured Parkman, '_In English for a change.'_

"Do we have a deal or do we keep doing this?" asked Bennet as he looked at Peter. He knew that Parkman was working in the background. He had to admit the man had grown more confident in his skills since the last time Bennet had seen him. The telepathic probe was much more finely controlled and less clumsy. Bennet still should've been able to resist it but he knew that wouldn't get them anywhere. The only way to move the game along was to give up the location.

'_I've got it,'_ assured Parkman, '_She's with Mohinder at his lab. It's the loft where Isaac Mendez used to live.'_

'_Yeah, I know the place,'_ reminded Peter as he gave Bennet a slight grin before he disappeared in a blink of the eye. Bennet quickly pushed past Bob but by the time he fired Peter had grabbed Elle and disappeared.

"They got the location of Molly," said Bennet, "Parkman's been working with them."

"Disappointing," admitted Bob, "Let's move."

"No," disagreed Bennet, "We're not going all the way to Manhattan. We'll never make it. They might have a car around here. They'll come back to that if they do and then we'll take care of them. Trust me, this time I'll go for the throat."

XXXXX

"You know, I'm getting really tired of people pointing guns at me," said Peter as he looked down the barrel of Mohinder's gun, "We just need Molly's power for five minutes. Is that really so hard to do?"

"You broke into Primatech last night," reminded Mohinder, "From what Bob told me, Elle almost killed Claire yesterday. She's not exactly the most stable person."

"You _do_ know I'm in the room, right?" asked Elle as she glared at Mohinder, "Look, I don't care about all this crap that's going on between you guys. I just want Molly to find my mother. That's it. Can I just do that without everyone having to get all crazy about it?"

"Mohinder, listen," said Peter, "Those people you work for killed my brother and God only knows what they've done to Elle and her family. Can you really still spew their garbage to me about all of this being for 'the greater good'? Just give us a road map of the United States and five minutes with Molly. That's all we're asking. You lost your father to these people. If you found out your dad was still alive you can't tell me you wouldn't do everything you could to find him."

"Five minutes," agreed Mohinder, "I will watch you both." He motioned to Molly in an effort to get her to come out from under the table where she was hiding.

"Hi," said Elle, "I need this super big favor. Can you help me find my mom?"

"I need a picture or something of hers," explained Molly nervously. Elle reached into her pocket and pulled out the photograph she had taken from her father's office. She pointed out her mother while Peter grabbed a map and opened it out on a nearby table.

"She's really pretty," said Molly as she looked at Elle.

"Yeah, she is," agreed Elle, "Please do this for me." Molly came over to the map and closed her eyes. She let her index finger rest on the map while her other hand held the picture. It only took seconds for her finger to start moving. Elle watched as Molly's finger traveled across the map and finally rested on the last stop on Elle's journey before the little girl opened her eyes and looked up at her. Elle bit her lip as she looked at where Molly's finger stopped. Everything was starting to come full circle.

"Toledo, Ohio," said Peter as he looked at Elle, "Ever been there?"

"I grew up there," replied Elle quietly as she looked at Molly, "You're absolutely sure this is where she is."

"I never miss," assured Molly with a grin.

"I need my stuff," reminded Elle as she looked at Peter, "We're going to have to go back to the car." Peter nodded and took her hand. They were gone in a split-second.

XXXXX

Peter and Elle appeared on the sidewalk next to where Peter had parked the car. Elle's head was already buzzing from this latest news. She was so close now, so tantalizingly close that she could almost feel it. She knew where her mother was. All she had to do was get there and find her.

"You look pretty happy," said Peter with a slight grin as he handed Elle her bags.

"I'd like you to come with me," explained Elle, "I mean you helped me get so far and I just thought . . ." Elle's words were lost in the sound of a gunshot as something hit the back of Peter's head. She screamed as Peter fell into her arms. She saw her father and Bennet for a split-second before suddenly she and Peter were somewhere else. Elle realized what Peter had done. He had made a blind jump with his teleportation ability. She didn't exactly know where they were but they were in an apartment.

"Peter?" asked Elle as she rolled him over onto his back and saw that he was dead, "Peter!" She checked his wound and saw that it wasn't healing. Why wasn't it healing?

"No!" cried Elle as she hurriedly looked around for something she could do, "No, no, no, no!" She found the medical kit and began filling the syringe. If Peter's wound couldn't heal then she would _make_ it heal. She couldn't lose him, not now when she was so damn close. Elle gave Peter a dose of Claire's blood and watched the wound on his head. She waited a full two seconds before she realized it wasn't going to heal.

"I need you!" pleaded Elle as she grabbed the bag of blood and quickly opened it. She was going to have to apply it directly to the wound if she wanted any results. Elle quickly poured the blood onto the wound, emptying the contents of the entire bag onto the back of Peter's head. She had to get him to heal. She couldn't lose him. He was too important to her.

"Please," whispered Elle tearfully, "Please, please work." She watched the wound slowly but surely begin to heal and felt herself breathe the biggest sigh of relief she had ever breathed.

"Always thought you'd be the death of me," mumbled Peter as he slowly rolled over onto his back. Elle smiled at him and reached down to stroke his cheek. He may've been a bloody mess but at least he was alive and that was what mattered to her the most.

"This is your place isn't it?" asked Elle.

"No place like home," assured Peter, "You're going to owe me for this mess though."

"Shut up," said Elle as she leaned down and kissed him. They both tasted of sweat and blood but neither of them complained. Peter smiled as they parted before sliding off into unconsciousness. Elle couldn't be sure but she thought it was probably the first time he had really smiled in a month.

XXXXX

It was morning again by the time Peter Petrelli fully awoke. He was still on the floor of his apartment although mercifully he was no longer lying in a pool of blood. He figured Elle must've cleaned up the mess while he was out. Peter groaned as he felt his head throb. His healing factor had been maxed out yesterday and it would be a while before he fully recovered. Peter picked himself up off the floor and noticed that a piece of paper had been sitting on top of his chest.

_Peter_

_I know this is such a crappy way to say this but, well, you've been unconscious all night. I know I said I wanted you to come with me but I can't let you do that. I love you, Peter. I love you so much that it almost killed me to think that you were really dead and it was because I got you involved in this. I couldn't live with myself if that happened again. Please don't follow me to Ohio. This is something I have to do alone. It's better that way. You understand that, right? I hope I see you one day, Peter. I hope some day you find the things that you lost. Goodbye._

_xoxoxo_

_Elle_


	5. Glass Houses

Liberate Yourself from Hell (Part Five)

By TheLostMaximoff

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters.

She had never looked back as she boarded the plane for Toledo. Elle had used cold, hard cash for this one. She wasn't going to give her father a chance to track her. At first, Elle had enjoyed having allies in this little game. It made it easier and safer to get things done. As usual, safety was a lie for her. This wasn't a game for teammates. This was a game she had to play alone and it was time to finish it. Elle sat and stared out of the plane's window. She idly blew on the glass, fogging it up before taking her finger and doodling. She smiled as she remembered she had done this once before on the plane she and her family had taken to get to the beach. What was her mother doing back in Ohio? Elle wondered about it as she wrote her name on the glass then created more fog before drawing a heart under it. She wiped the glass off and sighed. She wasn't a little girl anymore. She remembered Peter's words to her the day before. Everyone had to grow up some time but it didn't mean they should abandon their childhood completely. Elle never had a childhood though. Maybe that was why this was so unbelievably important to her. She wanted back what she had lost, what had been stolen from her. There was something else to it though. Maybe Elle just wanted to be a kid again because being a kid was easy. Maybe at the end of the day she just wanted Mommy to protect her so she didn't have to do all the work. It was hard walking alone and making all the tough calls by yourself. Maybe she should've let Peter come with her.

"You'll never get anywhere if you don't grow up," muttered Elle to herself. That was what her father always told her when she was behaving like a brat. Elle hated to admit that maybe he was right.

XXXXX

Elle didn't plan on wasting time once she hit the streets of Toledo. She was on a clock now and she knew she had to work fast and work clean. There wasn't room for mistakes. Her first stop was the Lucas County Courthouse. She didn't expect her idea to work but she had been lucky so far so she decided to push it a step further.

"Hi," said Elle as she stepped up to the counter, "I need to check a property record."

"What's the address?" asked the woman.

"1879 Glendale Avenue," recited Elle, "It's up in Harvard Terrace." She felt butterflies in her stomach as the woman typed the address into a computer.

"It's currently up for sale," replied the woman.

"Do you know the previous owner?" asked Elle.

"Mary Bell," said the woman.

"Does she have a current address?" asked Elle. The woman typed again and then shook her head. Elle frowned and then left the office. She could still try a different approach. The search only meant there was no property under her name. She could be living in an apartment. Elle knew that name. She remembered that "Bell" was her mother's maiden name. It couldn't be that easy though, could it? If Elle's mother had taken such careless steps to cover her tracks then why hadn't The Company killed her by now? Was it possible that Bob honestly respected his wife enough to simply leave her alone? Elle knew her father carried a lot of power in The Company. Was it just that simple or had she come all this way for a hoax? Elle pulled out her cell phone and sent Hana a text message. Two seconds later her phone rang.

"I'm in the middle of something," explained Hana.

"I need you to run a check on someone," said Elle, "Mary Bell of Toledo, Ohio."

"Could you pick a more nondescript name?" asked Hana sarcastically, "That way it would be impossible instead of just challenging."

"I just need her current address," explained Elle.

"Two minutes," assured Hana and then the call ended. Elle stood outside the courthouse and waited. She watched the normal people come and go and strangely she felt as if she was close to becoming one of them again. Elle knew her life would never be normal again. She and her mother would have to go into hiding but perhaps things wouldn't be so bad. Perhaps she could regain a semblance of the normalcy she had lost as a child. Her phone rang again.

"989 Eleanor Avenue," said Hana.

"That's close to Five Points," replied Elle, "Thanks." Elle wasn't exactly familiar with the section of the city known as "Five Points". She had lived up in the Harvard Terrace neighborhood full of old money homes and upper middle class suburbia. Five Points was the working class neighborhood. Her mother took her down there sometimes but only on special occasions. She remembered her mother once worked as a waitress at a diner in Five Points. As the story went, that was how Elle's parents had met one another. Mary Bell was a waitress at some nameless greasy spoon diner and Bob Bishop was always traveling due to Company business. One day their paths happened to cross and the rest, according to them, was history. Elle smiled wistfully at the memories of happier times when her parents loved one another and she was an average, ordinary little girl. She loved hearing that story because back then she envisioned her father as a handsome, charming prince who swept her mother off her feet and whisked her out of the gutter and into their mansion. Elle used to think her father was God, used to think that her father was the end-all-be-all of the universe. She hated him now and the very sight of his face sent the anger and lightning coursing through her veins.

"I'm too close for you to ruin it now," muttered Elle as she got in her car and headed for the address Hana had given her, "There's nothing that's going to stop me."

XXXXX

Elle stared at the diner in front of her and sucked in a huge breath before stepping up to the door and opening it. The owner of Mary Bell's apartment building told Elle she worked here. Elle figured that made perfect sense considering that this was the exact same diner Mary Bell worked in all those years ago. This was the diner where her parents had first laid eyes on each other and fallen madly in love. Everything had made a complete circle and now here Elle was standing in the same building as her mother.

"What can I get you?" asked the woman at the counter.

"I'm looking for someone," explained Elle, "Mary Bell? I was told she works here."

Mary!" called out the woman as she turned to the kitchen, "Some girl out here wants to see you." Elle took an incredibly deep breath and held it for what seemed like forever. This was it. This was really it. She saw a woman walk through the door and come up to the counter. Elle exhaled the breath she had been holding and wanted to jump up and down with glee. She was staring at her mother. It was really her.

"I need to talk to you," explained Elle slowly, "It's really important."

"Do I know you?" asked Mary. Elle expected it to be something like that. Her mother either didn't fully recognize her or she was keeping up pretenses. Elle could play this game.

"Can we just go somewhere and talk?" asked Elle, "Maybe outside for a little while?"

"Alright," said Mary as Elle walked out the door with her and they both stood in the parking lot. Elle looked at her mother and never felt so alive. Her journey was over. All the insanity that had been the past few days had led her to this point where she was standing next to her own mother. It wasn't a dream this time. It was real and she wanted to cry because finally the nightmares were over.

"It's me, Mom," explained Elle as she looked at her mother, "It's Elle."

"I think you have me confused with someone else," replied Mary, "I don't have any children."

"Mom, you can stop it now," assured Elle, "Look, we need to get going. I can protect you from Dad but we'll have to get you out of the city since he followed me here. God, Mom, there's so much stuff I have to tell you but don't worry I'll explain it all on the way. C'mon." Elle reached for her mother's hand but the woman pulled it away.

"I don't have any children," repeated Mary, "I've never had any children. I've never even been married." Elle's heart, which had previously been in her throat, now plunged down into the depths of her stomach. She tried to rationalize exactly what was going on here.

"No, Mom, you did," stammered Elle, "You got married to a man named Robert Bishop and I'm your daughter. Don't you remember any of this? Don't you remember the way you used to tell me the story of how Dad came in here and swept you off your feet? Don't you remember the Bennets or that summer we went to the beach?"

"I've never been married," repeated Mary firmly, "I think I would remember that." Elle's mind suddenly clicked everything into place. Damn the Haitian. Damn him for taking away the last thing she loved in this world. She could make it better though. She still had a little bit of Claire's blood left. It probably wouldn't completely cure her mother but maybe it would help jog her memory.

"Mom, look," said Elle as she held up the photograph, "This is you and Dad at a Christmas party in 1989. This is Dad's best friend, Noah Bennet, and his wife. Don't you recognize your husband? You loved him, Mom. God, you loved him more than he ever needed to be loved by anyone but you loved him and you loved me. Don't you remember any of that?"

"Elle," said a voice. Elle turned and saw her father and Bennet standing next to her car.

"What did you do to my mother?" asked Elle furiously, "You erased her!"

"It's over, Elle," assured Bob as he held up the bag that contained the last of Claire's blood, "This little temper tantrum of yours has gone on long enough. It's time to come home." Elle watched in horror as Bob turned the bag and its contents into dust. That was her last chance to get back her mother and he had taken it away from her. He always took everything away from her. He took her mother, her childhood, her memories, everything.

"I'm through listening to you," assured Elle as she held up her hand and let the lightning loose, "You're not my father anymore!" The bolt split into two arcs, one for Bob and one for Bennet. Elle grabbed her mother's hand and ran for her car. She could get more blood. She could still get it all back. All she had to do was get her mother to Costa Verde and then get more of Claire's blood.

"What are you?" asked Mary as Elle shoved her in the car and then got in on the other side.

"I'm just a girl who wants her mother back," admitted Elle, "You have to trust me, Mom. I can make all of this better but we have to get out of the city." Elle started the car and wheeled out of the parking lot. They would have to get to the airport and they would have to do it fast.

"How did you do that back there?" asked Mary.

"It's just something I can do," explained Elle haphazardly, "Like I told you, there's so much you missed out on." She noticed that her mother was dialing her cell phone. Elle reached and grabbed the phone from her mother's hands.

"I'm not your mother," said Mary as she tried to get her phone back, "You're obviously insane."

"Don't!" snapped Elle as she gave her mother a murderous glare, "Please don't ever call me that ever again. You'll thank me for this, Mom. Trust me." Elle rolled down the window and tossed the phone out of it as she sped down the street. It didn't matter anyway. The police were bound to show up sooner or later what with the way she was driving. It didn't matter. She had to get her mother away from Bob.

XXXXX

"This is what you call letting nature take its course?" asked Bennet skeptically as he sat in the passenger seat while Bob drove, "You used the Haitian on her."

"Well at least I wasn't the first now was I?" asked Bob in return, "At the time she left, we hadn't authorized the Haitian for anyone's use and I swore I would never do that even if we did. A few years after she left, Mary was institutionalized but she broke out and came to me. She wanted to see her daughter again but by that time Elle was already in the program and I couldn't let Mary go back to the asylum."

"So you erased her entire marriage and let her go back to living her former life here in Toledo," finished Bennet, "How touching."

"I'm not screwing around with you anymore," assured Bob as he suddenly looked at his former best friend, "Take the shot or I will take it for you. You can't back out of our agreement, Noah. You know what will happen if you do." Bennet mumbled under his breath as he rolled down his window and aimed his gun at Elle's car. He had already gotten everything he wanted. He had sent a couple emails to Hana. She had used the connection in Elle's stolen laptop to worm her way into The Company's databases. Bennet didn't need Elle anymore but that didn't mean he was going to toss her out like trash as her father seemingly had done to her more than once. Bennet fired his gun, aiming for one of the back tires on Elle's car. He could've easily tried for a headshot on her but he wasn't going to needlessly kill anyone.

"How well do you know this city?" asked Bennet as his first shot missed and he tried for a second.

"Well enough to know that they're about to get on the Anthony Wayne Bridge," replied Bob as he weaved the car through traffic in an effort to catch up with Elle.

"You could try keeping this thing still," reminded Bennet, "It's nice when I'm trying to aim." His second shot missed. He knew he was drawing too much attention but that wasn't his main concern. Bennet planned on this being his last day working for The Company. He was either going home to his family in a plane or in a casket but either way at least he would be free from his obligations to Bob and the rest of these monsters. Bennet took aim again as the two cars got onto the bridge. His third shot finally connected with the back right tire of Elle's car. There was a loud pop as the tire burst and sent the car into a skid. Bob jammed on the brakes and stopped his car.

"I told you to stop screwing around," said Bob as he looked at Bennet.

"I'm not going to kill your daughter," assured Bennet, "You'll have to do that yourself." Bob didn't say anything in response. Instead, he grabbed the gun from Bennet and got out of the car. He fired a shot at the driver's side window. Elle grabbed her mother and pulled both of them down in time to avoid the shot. She opened the door and rolled out of the car and onto the ground. Elle came up to her feet with lightning in her palms and fired back at her father. The lightning bolt knocked Bob to the ground but he began getting back to his feet.

"I was never good enough for you," said Elle coldly as she threw another lightning bolt at Bob, "You always took everything away from me because you thought I didn't deserve it. You took away my mother! You took away my childhood!"

"That's because you never learned how to be an adult," retorted Bob as he dodged the bolt, "Look at you, Elle. You're still a childish, self-centered brat. _She_ was the one who left _us_, Elle. Don't you think I tried everything I could to keep our family together? _You_ were the one who tore us apart. Don't blame me for trying to take care of you the best way I could."

"The best way you could?" asked Elle, her voice dripping with utter contempt, "You tortured me, Daddy!" Bob raised his gun to fire at his daughter again but Elle zapped him and knocked the gun away. She hated this man so much. There weren't words strong enough to accurately describe how angry she was with him. The lightning in her grew and grew and began to ooze from every pour in her skin. Wild, jagged arcs leapt from her body, crackling and snapping at Bob like wild, hungry animals. She was power, pure and uncontrolled power. All the anger and hate raged around her with the lightning and created a tempest of raw energy. Elle was a force of nature, wild and untamed. She was still a child stamping her foot and screaming until the world conformed to her demands.

"Elle, I'm your father," stated Bob as he crawled backwards, his fingers closing around the gun, "I'm the only one who can take care of you."

"Not anymore," assured Elle as her eyes crackled with energy. She looked down at her father scurrying away from her like some giant cockroach. It was fitting. He was nothing more than an insect to her and it was time to squash him. It was the only way she would ever be safe from his lies and manipulations. Elle held up her hand and braced herself to let out the lightning in her palm. Bob raised his gun and shot Elle. The bullet hit Elle in the shoulder, throwing her arm to the side. She unconsciously let go of her lightning in an errant blast that struck something or rather someone. Elle clutched her shoulder in pain as she turned to see where her lightning had struck.

"No!" cried Elle as she saw her mother fall to the ground. She managed to make her legs work correctly and stumbled over to her mother, cradling her body as best she could. She couldn't be dead. She just couldn't be dead. Elle had traveled so much and fought so hard to see her again. It couldn't end this way.

"Mom, please," whispered Elle, "Mom, stay with me!" She looked into her mother's eyes and could see them slowly losing their spark. She shouldn't have let loose like that. She shouldn't have been so careless. Why did she have to be a child about everything? Why couldn't she just grow up?

"That's my little girl," whispered Mary Bishop as she looked into her daughter's eyes. Elle watched her mother die in her arms and let out a scream akin to the howling of a wounded animal. It was all gone now, everything she had ever fought for and bled for. She had nothing now except for one thing. She still had her anger and her rage. She still had pain.

"You did this!" shouted Elle as she hurled a lightning bolt at Bob and came at him, "You killed her!" The bolt stunned Bob long enough for him to drop his gun. Elle grabbed him and hit him harder than she had ever hit anyone in her life. She wasn't going to stop. There was nothing left to stop her anymore.

"Everything is gone," stated Elle as she hit Bob again, "Your family is gone! Are you happy?" She pushed her father to the edge of the bridge, hitting him over and over again as well as shocking him. She wanted him to suffer. She loved the power she had by hurting people. It was so engrained into her mind because of what this man had done to her when she was a child. He had turned her into this. He had created her as a monster in his image and now it was time for him to face his hideous creation.

"This was your fault," said Bob as Elle grabbed her father and dangled him over the side of the bridge, "Take responsibility, Elle."

"I can't," assured Elle with a mischievous grin, "I'm just a child. Are you proud of me, Daddy? I am what you made me!" She suddenly felt a bullet hit her in the back. Elle let go of her father as she spun around. Two more bullets hit her heart and she fell backwards. Bob managed to grab onto the side of the bridge as Bennet walked up to him.

"I could put a bullet into your skull right now," reminded Bennet as he casually let his foot come down on one of Bob's hands, "After what's happened here today I really don't think I'd mind."

"Let me up," pleaded Bob.

"You're lucky I'm a better man than you," assured Bennet as he took his foot off Bob's hand and helped the man back onto the bridge. Once Bob was on solid ground, Bennet promptly hit him in the back of the head with his gun and knocked the man out cold.

XXXXX

Elle felt the bullets rip through her chest and she fell backwards. She felt the weightlessness that came with freefall as he body tumbled towards the waters of the Maurnee River below. She felt her sparks die out and then the hard, stinging impact of her back hitting the water. She didn't even try to swim to the surface. She just felt her body fall down into the abyss. There was no point in it anymore. She had spent her whole life trying to run away from the dark, ugliness below the surface. Now it was time to go under, to lose herself in it forever. It wasn't as if she had anything left to live for anyway.


	6. Lost and Found

Liberate Yourself from Hell (Epilogue)

By TheLostMaximoff

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. This is, as you might've guessed, the final chapter. It's been a great ride. R/R.

_Elle's eyes slowly but surely open, squinting slightly as the sunlight streams through her window. The smell of pancakes tickles her nose and she smiles as she gets out of bed and goes into the kitchen._

"_Morning, sweetheart," says Mary Bishop as Elle pours herself a glass of orange juice and sits down at the table._

"_Morning, Mom," replies Elle with a smile as she sips her juice and waits with eager anticipation for pancakes. She can tell her mother put blueberries in them just like she used to when Elle was young._

"_Peter called while you were asleep," informs Mary as she puts a stack of pancakes on the plate in the center of the table, "I invited him to come over for breakfast."_

"_Mom," says Elle, her cheeks reddening, "You should've told me you wanted to meet him. We could've gone to dinner or something."_

"_Well I have to meet him some time, Ellie," reminds Mary as Elle takes a few pancakes and practically drowns them in syrup. She takes a bite and savors it. The door to the apartment opens and Peter Petrelli comes into the room._

"_Morning, sweetheart," says Peter as he leans down and kisses Elle on the cheek, "I'm not late am I?"_

"_I just got up," replies Elle, "I guess I should get this over with. Mom, this is Peter. Peter, this is . . ." The words die in her throat as she suddenly realizes that time around her has frozen. No one says anything and no one moves. Elle sits there staring at her mother and Peter while they're frozen like statues. She reaches out a hand to touch her mother and suddenly the woman shatters like glass. Elle yelps as everything around her quickly follows suit. Her world breaks into a thousand pieces and she's left sitting here in the dark alone._

"_Not exactly the life I wanted for you," admits Mary._

"_Mom!" cries Elle as she runs to her mother and hugs her tightly, "I'm so, so sorry about this, Mom. I never meant to hurt you. Please, please forgive me."_

"_It's alright, Ellie," assures Mary as she hugs her daughter and pats Elle's head, "It's okay now."_

"_Am I dead?" asks Elle quietly._

"_No, you're not," assures Mary gently, "You'll have to wake up soon and you'll have to let me go. I know that's very hard for you, sweetheart, but it's something you have to do."_

"_But I don't wanna," whimpers Elle as she clings to her mother._

"_Life's not always about what we want to do, my princess," reminds Mary, "Sometimes it's about doing what we have to do." Elle feels her mother slip through her fingers and fade away. They're being pulled in opposite directions and she struggles to hang on but can't. Life isn't always about doing whatever she wants. Elle's not a little girl anymore and as hard as it may be to do she has to let her mother go._

XXXXX

"Mom?" mumbled Elle as she opened her eyes and looked around. Her eyes finally rested on Noah Bennet and he shook his head sadly.

"I'm sorry, kiddo," said Bennet, "We couldn't save her."

"Where am I?" asked Elle as she sat up so she could have a better understanding of what was going on.

"You're in a hospital in Toledo," explained Bennet, "Don't worry about your father. He's not in the city anymore and, trust me, he won't be coming after you for a while."

"Did you kill him?" asked Elle, "You should've just let me die too."

"I wasn't in charge of him," admitted Bennet, "I also never said I was the one who pulled you out of the river. I mean I was going to but apparently someone beat me to it." Bennet turned and smiled as Peter Petrelli walked into the room and sat down in the chair next to Elle's bed.

"I told you not to come after me," reminded Elle.

"You know it's funny," said Peter with a grin, "Ever since a few days ago I seem to have this weird ability to naturally find people."

"Wait, I've been out for a few days?" asked Elle.

"Only a couple," replied Bennet, "Peter and I have been quite busy. Right now, my friend Hana is working her way through The Company's networks after getting in through the laptop that you stole from your father. She's doing what the most crippling computer viruses in history only wish they could do. Every single scrap of data on their networks is being either erased completely or sent to me if I think it's anything worth keeping and then erased. Congratulations, Elle, you helped us set The Company back about twenty or thirty years and no one had to expose themselves to the general public in order to do it. The normal people can go on living normal lives and the specials can go on keeping their secrets."

"Wait, how did I survive?" asked Elle, "Shouldn't I be dead?"

"We figured out a few things about my blood," explained Peter, "Doesn't work nearly as well as Claire's or Adam's but it turns out it works well enough if I'm copying their ability."

"So all this was just about you taking down The Company?" asked Elle as she looked at Bennet, "You just used me?"

"I believe you have me confused with your father," corrected Bennet, "I don't pull strings, Elle. I just nudge people in the right direction from time to time. I should've helped you years and years ago when your father started running those tests but I didn't. Consider this my way of apologizing for that." Bennet handed Elle an envelope. Elle opened it up and pulled out the papers inside along with a stack of money and something else.

"That's everything for a new life," explained Peter, "All the paperwork and five thousand dollars in cash."

"What's this?" asked Elle as she held up the portable DVD player and a case containing some burnt DVDs.

"I remember a few days ago we were standing in your father's office and you told me there were files on his computer that you couldn't get into," said Bennet with a grin, "After all this, I thought you might want to see what they actually were." Elle cautiously took out one of the discs and put it into the player. She waited for it to load up and watched the screen as it began to play. She was greeted by the sight of a blond, blue-eyed little girl smiling at the camera. It was her. The files in the folder were videos of her.

"There's more," assured Bennet, "Birthday parties, Christmases, even that summer vacation you took to the beach. Your father always had a camcorder on hand any time you did anything worth noticing and you were always a photogenic child. Consider this a way to help you remember your brief but glorious childhood."

"Thank you," said Elle as she stopped the tape and looked at Bennet, "I mean if you hadn't have given me Hana's email address . . ."

"You would've found some other way to start all this," assured Bennet, "You were always a curious little girl. I'd love to stay but I believe I'll leave you two crazy kids alone. I have a family that will be pleasantly surprised to see me home for dinner."

"Next time you could find easier ways to do this stuff," reminded Elle.

"Nothing worth having is easy," assured Bennet with a grin, "I'd like to make a small request though."

"What is it?" asked Elle.

"If you ever happen to see your father again, I'd like you to give him a message," explained Bennet, "Tell him the next time he tries to seduce a married woman it would be nice if that woman wasn't his best friend's wife. I hear that type of thing can really ruin a good friendship." Bennet turned and left Peter and Elle to process his implications. Elle turned back to the DVD player and stared at the video of herself as a child.

"I've been thinking about what you said in your note," said Peter, his voice turning Elle's attention away from the image on the screen.

"Oh?" asked Elle.

"Maybe it's not important to get back things that were lost," explained Peter as he smiled at her, "Maybe it's more important to hang on to the things you have right now."

"And what do you have that's so important?" asked Elle with a grin.

"I'd like to have you in my life," said Peter as he took her hand, "You told me you wished you could save me. Maybe we can help save each other."

"Now _that_ is the Peter Petrelli I remember," admitted Elle as she leaned over and kissed his cheek, "You think we can get out of here since I'm all better?"

"I'll work on doing it the normal way," assured Peter, "Just name any place you want to go and I'll take you there."

"I already know where," replied Elle.

XXXXX

Elle stood on the shore and watched the waves roll in. She'd never been to the beach at night. She had to admit it was beautiful with the moonlight reflecting off of the water. She remembered the summer her family had spent at this beach and she remembered the complete and total fear she had experienced about getting in the water. That's what this trip had been about. It was time for her to face all that fear and guilt and this was the only way she could do it.

"I can go with you if you want," reminded Peter as he held her hand.

"No," said Elle as she looked at him, "I have to do this by myself." She let go of Peter's hand and walked out into the water. She just kept walking and walking until her feet could no longer touch the ground. Elle took a deep breath and then pulled herself down into the water. She wasn't afraid anymore. She wasn't afraid to see what was down in the dark ugliness below the surface. Elle just let herself drift under the water and listened to the sound of the waves roll over her head.

XXXXX

_Elle remembers the laughter of children. She remembers what it was like to smile at the world and not hurt while doing so. She remembers when the world was young and full of endless possibilities. Most of all, Elle remembers her mother because now memories are all she has left of the woman._

"_I just wanted to say goodbye," explains Elle as she sees her mother standing in front of her, "Peter and I are leaving soon. I don't know where we'll be going but I know I'll be safe there. He makes me feel safe, Mom."_

"_The right ones always do," assures Mary, "Hang on to those memories, Ellie. They'll lead you back home."_

"_I'll always miss you," says Elle as she hugs her mother._

"_I know," replies Mary, "Run along now, my princess. Just know that I'll always be proud of you."_

"_Goodbye, Mom," says Elle as she feels herself floating upwards out of the blackness and into the light. It feels good in the light, warm and safe like nothing else she's ever felt before._

XXXXX

Elle kicked herself up through the surface and exhaled sharply. She opened her eyes and shook her head before making her way back to shore. Peter tossed her a towel as she came over to him.

"You alright?" asked Peter.

"Yeah," replied Elle with a smile, "I think I am now." She began wiping herself off as she turned and looked back at the ocean. It was so beautiful and calm. She thought maybe she could get used to seeing it every day. It might not be so bad. Elle felt Peter's warm arms wrap around her and bring her closer to him.

"She'd be proud of you," whispered Peter.

"She is," assured Elle, "Let's get inside before I freeze." Peter kissed her cheek and then took her hand to lead her away. Elle took one last look at the ocean and squinted slightly. It might've been her imagination but she swore she saw a little girl smiling back at her. Elle could've sworn she heard the laughter of a child as she and Peter headed back towards civilization. It took her only a few seconds to realize that the laughter she heard was her own. She had missed the sound of it all these years much as she had missed a lot of things. There would finally be time now to remember them all.


End file.
